Summary

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The majority voted against the Greens amendment that prevents any increase to ground water extraction unless certain assessment processes take place.

This means that the majority of senators disagreed with the amendment.

The amendment was introduced by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and its purpose is to adhere to a precautionary principle. It was introduced in the context of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and addresses a concern within the Greens Party that there is insufficient knowledge about the impact of groundwater extraction on surface water levels.

Background to the bill

The purpose of the bill is to allow the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to make adjustments to the long-term average sustainable diversion limit set by the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.(See the bills digest (809KB) for more information on the bill and its purpose.) Sustainable diversion limits are the average water quantities that can be taken from the Murray-Darling basin sustainably and their aim is to return water to the environment.

References

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 9 Yes 0 No
Richard Di Natale Victoria Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Scott Ludlam WA Yes
Christine Milne Tasmania Yes
Lee Rhiannon NSW Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Penny Wright SA Yes
Australian Labor Party (73% turnout) 0 Yes 22 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Mark Bishop WA No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Trish Crossin NT No
Chris Evans WA No
Don Farrell SA No
David Feeney Victoria No
Mark Furner Queensland No
Alex Gallacher SA No
Joe Ludwig Queensland No
Anne McEwen SA No
Jan McLucas Queensland No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Louise Pratt WA No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW No
Lin Thorp Tasmania No
Penny Wong SA No
Bob Carr NSW Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
John Faulkner NSW Absent
Kate Lundy ACT Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Helen Polley Tasmania Absent
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Absent
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President No
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (30% turnout) 0 Yes 8 No
Christopher Back WA No
Simon Birmingham SA No
Sue Boyce Queensland No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Sean Edwards SA No
David Fawcett SA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Dean Smith WA No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Cory Bernardi SA Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
David Bushby Tasmania Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Alan Eggleston WA Absent
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Mitch Fifield Victoria Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Helen Kroger Victoria Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (60% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Barnaby Joyce Queensland No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
John Williams NSW No
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Fiona Nash NSW Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Absent
Totals (58% turnout) 10 Yes – 34 No